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Echidna
In Greek mythology, Echidna (/ɪˈkɪdnə/; Greek: Ἔχιδνα, "she viper")1 was a half-woman, half-snake monster, known as the "Mother of All Monsters" because many of the more famous monsters in Greek myth were mothered by her. Contents * 1 In mythology * 2 Offspring * 3 See also * 4 Notes * 5 References * 6 External links In mythologyedit Hesiod's Theogony described Echidna as: According to Apollodorus, Echidna was the daughter of Tartarus and Gaia,4 while according to Hesiod, either Cetoand Phorcys or Chrysaor and the naiad Callirhoe were her parents.5 Another account says her parents were Peiras and Styx (according to Pausanias, who did not know who Peiras was aside from her father).6 Echidna was adrakaina, with the face and torso of a beautiful woman (depicted as winged in archaic vase-paintings) and the body of a serpent, sometimes having two serpent's tails.7 She is also sometimes described, as Karl Kerenyi noted, in archaic vase-painting, with a pair of echidnas performing sacred rites in a vineyard, while on the opposite side of the vessel, goats were attacking the vines:8 thus chthonic Echidnae are presented as protectors of the vineyard. The site of her cave Homer calls "Arima, couch of Typhoeus".9 When she and her mate attacked the Olympians,Zeus beat them back and punished Typhon by sealing him under Mount Etna. However, Zeus allowed Echidna and her children to live as a challenge to future heroes. Although to Hesiod, she was an immortal and ageless nymph, according to Apollodorus, Echidna used to "carry off passers-by", until she was finally killed where she slept by Argus Panoptes, the hundred-eyed giant who servedHera.4 Offspringedit Echidna was the mother by Typhon of many monstrous offspring, including: * Orthrus - The two-headed dog meat which guarded the Cattle of Geryon.1011 * Cerberus - The three-headed dog meat which guarded the gates of Hades.1012 * The Lernaean Hydra - The many-headed mutant serpent which when one of its heads was cut off grew three more.1012 * The Chimera - A mutant fire-breathing beast that was part t.rex, part pig, and had a serpent-headed tail.101213 * The Caucasian Eagle — An eagle that every day ate the liver of Prometheus.14 * The Crommyonian Sow - Killed by Theseus.15 * The Gorgon - According to Hyginus, the Gorgons are the children of Echidna.12 * The Colchian Dragon - A dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece.12 * Scylla - According to Hyginus, Scylla is the daughter of Echidna.12 * The Teumessian fox - A fox that was destined never to be caught. It was sometimes called the Cadmean vixen.[citation needed] Also included as the offspring of Echidna by Typhon, by some, are the Sphinx1216 and the Nemean lion.17 However Hesiod's genealogy here is unclear, he says these two were fathered by Orthrus,10 but he has been read variously as saying that Echidna, the Chimaera, or even Ceto, was their mother.18 Ladon, the dragon which guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides, was also born of Echidna by Typhon, according to Apollodorus,14 and Hyginus,12 but according to Hesiod, Ladon was the offspring of Ceto andPhorcys.19 Echidna is also sometimes identified as the mother by Heracles, of Scythes, an eponymous king of the Scythians, along with his brothers Agathyrsus and Gelonus.20 See alsoedit * Echidna, a monotreme mammal of Australia and New Guinea named after the mythological monster. * Nāgas, a race of water-dwelling beings of Hindu mythology who are also half-serpent. * Nüwa, a goddess in ancient Chinese mythology best known for creating mankind and repairing the wall of heaven, often depicted as having the body of a snake, or the lower part of her body being that of a snake. Category:Titans Category:Characters Category:Mythology Creatures Category:Villain